Nomination for Swampscott Fish House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received APR | 7 1985 date entered MAY | 6 1985 historic Swampscott Fish House and or common Fish House 2. Location street & number Humphrey Street NA not for publication city, town Swampscott NA vicinity of state Massachusetts code 025 3. Classification county Essex code 009 Category district x building(s) structure site object Ownership X public _ private both Public Acquisition in process NA being considered Status x occupied _ unoccupied _ work in progress Accessible - yes: restricted .

yes: unrestricted X no Present Use - agriculture X commercial educational entertainment government _ industrial military museum park private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name Town of Swampscott street & number Elihu Thomson Administration Building, 22 Monument Avenue city, town Swampscott NA vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state MA courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Essex County South District Registry of Deeds street & number 32 Federal Street city, town Salem 6. Representation in Existing Surveys state MA 01970 title NA has this property been determined eligible? - yesx no date federal _state _county- _ local depository for survey records city, town state 7. Description Swampscott Fish House, Swampscott, MA Condition excellent X good fair deteriorated .

ruins unexposed Check one unaltered x altered Check one X original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Swampscott Fish House, built in 1896, is located off Humphrey Road, on the southern shore of Swampscott, Massachusetts. Swampscott's 1andmass is triangular, bounded by the towns of Salem and Marblehead to the north, the city of Lynn to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east. Although the town has an area of only 3.07 square miles, its coastline is 4.3 miles long. The southern shore of Swampscott is characterized by several smal1 bays opening into Nahant Bay. The Fish House sits at a 90-degree angle to Humphrey Road, between the road and Blaney Beach, known locally as Fishermen's Beach, or Fishies. The beach is framed by Blaney Rock to the west and Lincoln House Point to the east. The surrounding area has mixed commercial and residential uses. To the east of the Fish House is a well-established residential neighborhood of nineteenth and early-twentieth century houses.

Immediately to the north of the building is Humphrey Street; a new 28-unit condominium development is located directly across the street. Along Humphrey Road are a number of retail stores and small service offices. To the west of the Fish House is Blaney Beach Park, a municipally owned park that is partially paved forparking. In addition to parking, this area is used for the storage of boats and equipment by local fisherman, particularly during the winter months. To the south of the Fish House is a fishing pier, constructed during the 1960s. Alongside the pier is a boat launching ramp. The Fish House sits on a parcel of land that is approximately 130x165 feet in area. A substantial portion of the lot has been paved for parking.

While there are known prehistoric archaeological sites within 1/2 mile of the Fish House (on Lincoln House Point) the intensive use of the site over the past two hundred years, the paved area around the building, and the waterfront site all combine to make the potential for prehistoric archaeological resources 1ow. The Fish House was built to replace a series of structures used by local fisherman to store equipment for the commercial fishing fleet. Some of these buildings were moved to new locations, while others were demolished. Nevertheless, the same factors that make prehistoric archaeological survivals unlikely make the likelihood of historic archaeological resources 1ow. The Swampscott Fish House is a large (approximately 35x95 feet) ! 1/2-story, rectangular Shingle style building with a hipped roof.

The massing of the building reflects Colonial Revival designs, with a two-story central pavilion serving as a major design element. This pavilion has a decked, hipped roof surmounted by a simple balustrade. The building's primary facade faces west. On this elevation,asmall balcony is centered on the pavilion at second-floor level. On the north and south elevations, large wall dormers protrude from * The Massachusetts Historical Commission recommends that any future excavation of the site be monitored for archeological remains, despite the low potential for remains.

NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Swampscott Fish House Continuation sheet Swampscott, Mass Item number 7 For NPS use only recelved date entered Page the roof; the south dormer is a 1930 addition, but the north dormer is original. The Fish House has no basement and stands on its original concrete slab foundation. The building's walls are clad with the original wood shingles, which were once unstained but have been stained dark red since 1961. A belt course runs just above the first-floor level. The vast expanse of roof is sheathed in asphalt shingles, applied in 1972, although the original sheathing was wood shingles. The west elevation is symmetrically organized. It is dominated by a central pavilion that rises half a story higher than the remainder of the building.

This elevation is nine bays long on the ground floor, with three bays in the central section and three bays flanking the pavilion on each side. Each bay holds a heavy, broad sliding door composed of diamond-shaped panes of glass above three horizontal wood panels. The main entrance is centered on the pavilion and is made up of a boarded-up Casement doorbetween twoslidin dor. The casement door has paneling similar to the sliding doors, but has a central diamond pane of glass surrounded by rectangular panes above. Sheltering the main entrance is a balcony supported by four substantial curved consoles; one console has been replaced with a small triangular support. The balcony's balustrade has short square posts and simple spindles. The original balcony had more elaborately turned posts and spindles. It was removed in the 1950s.

The second story of the pavilion is marked by a central door opening onto the balcony. This door originally matched the main entry door below, but was replaced ca. 1960 with a plain wood door. On either side of the door is an oval oculus window. Beyond these are two windows with diamond-pane over sr aned et the senoad sory wtntone on ne pavtition diamond-over-two window to either side of the pavilion. These windows are aligned with the second-story windows on the pavilion, yet because of the half-story height difference, they are sheltered by shed dormers sloping from the main roof. Centered on the roof of the pavilion is a broad shed dormer sheltering a strip of three, square pivot windows with diamond panes. The pavilion's decked roof is surrounded by a balustrade (ca. 1950) constructed of 2x4 elements with simple turned corner posts.

The original balustrade had more elaborately turned finials and stick like detailing. A flagpole tops the pavilion, and it is capped by a fish weathervane. Two chimneys, set on the ridge, rise from the main hipped roof on either side of the pavilion. The east elevation is similar, although not identical, to the west elevation. It exhibits the same elements of sliding doors and diamond-pane windows found on the front, but combines them in a less symmetrical manner. The ground floor has eight sliding doors (some with metal sheets nailed over the bottom OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 NPS Form 10-000-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Swampscott Fish House Continuation sheet Swampscott, Mass Item number 7 For NPS use only recelved date entered Page panels) and a modern door along its length.

These doors will be restored to their original design and material in the near future. Interspersed in an irregular pattern along the east elevation are six-pane and diamond-pane fixed windows. On the second story of the pavilion's east elevation, there are two doors with-panels and diamond-pane lights. There was once block-and-pulley access to the second story through these openings. The doors are set off by four fixed diamond-pane windows. One diamond-over-two window in a side shed dormer has been replaced with a 2/2 window. In the pavilion dormer, one of the pivot windows has been removed and the opening shingled over. The north elevation of the Fish House, facing Humphrey Street, originally had two diamond-paned pivot windows placed symmetrically on the first story. 1983, one of these was removed and the opening shingled over.

A large gabled wall dormer is centered on the north elevation, projecting only slightly beyond the facade. The dormer contains three closely set windows with triple-hungsash (diamond-over-one-over-one). Originally, two decorative plaster reliefs depicting anchors were mounted to either side of the dormer. It has been proposed that replicas of the reliefs be executed and applied to the building. The gable field holds a painted plaster rendition of the Swampscott Town Seal, surrounded by a mosaic of seashells embedded in mortar. The south elevation, facing the water, is two bays wide on the first level. Each bay originally held a sliding door like those found on the other elevations. The right door was replaced with a flush door in 1975. Projecting from the roof is a very large gabled wall dormer, which was added to the building in 1930.

It may have replaced an earlier, smaller dormer matching the one on the north elevation. The dormer covers most of the elevation and projectsapproximately four feet from the facade at its bottom, where it is supported by four 4x8 brackets. Windows extend across the width of the dormer at second floor level; they include a large picture window with two 1/1 windows on either side. A square window with 3/3 sash is centered in the gable field above. On the interior, the first floor is taken up by the individual storage rooms, each accessed by one of the sliding doors. These rooms, known locally as "lockers" , measure approximately 15x20 feet. The first-floor level has no decorative finishing. The stairs to the second floor are located in the center of the building. The stairwell is panelled and there is a very plain handrail.

The second floor contains some common storage space and a meeting room used by local fishermen, the Town Recreation Commission, and the Swampscott Yacht Club. The Yacht Club room is the most elaborate of these meeting rooms, with dark panelled walls and a stone fireplace. The third floor contains an open sail loft. OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 8.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Swampscott Fish House, Swampscott, MA Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 x 1800-1899 x1900- Areas of Significance - Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics -x architecture education art engineering X commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention landscape architecture. law literature military music philosophy politics government Specific dates 1896 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Henry W. Rogers The Swampscott Fish House in Swampscott, Massachusetts, possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Swampscott's fishing industry has been an important part of its economy from the seventeenth century, and remains active today. Built in 1896, the Fish House is the only known municipally-built fish house in the state, and has remained in continuous use as a commercial fish house for its ninety-year history. The Fish House is a large, handsome building with design influences from the Colonial Revival and Shingle styles, reflecting prevailing architectural styles of the resort summer homes built in the same period.

As the only known municipally-built fish house in Massachusetts, for its associations with the fishing industry in Swampscott, and for its reflection of high-style summer cottage architecture, the Swampscott Fish House meets criteria A and C for listing on the National Register of Historic Places on the state and local levels. Swampscott was first settled by Europeans in 1629, when five men moved south from Salem to Lynn, then comprising the present towns of Lynn, Lynnfield, Nahant, Saugus, and Swampscott. Swampscott possessed a distinct identity as a fishing village from its earliest days, although it legally remained a part of Lynn for over 200 years. town by act of the Massachusetts Legislature.

At that time, the town had a r set or the Massachusets teotsTaztune In 1852, Swampscott was separately incorporated as a population of approximately 1,000 residents, most of whom were engaged in the fishing industry. Fishing was an important economic activity in Swampscott from the seventeenth century. Early fishermen went out in small dories, staying fairly close to 1and. After 1795, the use of schooners, locally known as jiggers, became prevalent, and the fleet pursued fish further out to sea. In the early nineteenth century, Swampscott grew to be one of New England's important fishing ports, and was the site of a thriving fish market that drew from as far away as Canada. Local lore says that the piles of frozen codfish on the beach were often as substantial as cord wood.

The peak of the fishing industry in Swampscott occurred in the 1860s: in 1865, 50 vessels, 31 dories, and 119 men were employed in the local industry. Although the industry leveled out after this, it remained an important part of the local econoomy. The relative strength of Swampscott's fishing fleet in the economy of Essex County actually grew in the 1870s and 1880s. In 1875, the value of the local catch was the sixth largest in the county, while by 1885, Swampscott's catch was second in value only to Gloucester. Besides having an active fishing industry, Swampscott developed as an important resort town in the nineteenth century. As early as the 1820s, city-dwellers, particularly Bostonians, had come to Swampscott in warm religion science sculpture X social/ theater transportation other (specify) 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References See Item 9, Continuation sheet 1. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property less than 1 acre Quadrangle name Lynn UT M References AL119| 13|412/91610| |417|013|21510| Zone Easting Northing CULLILL ELLLILLILILI GLUJLLILEd LILILiIJ Verbal boundary description and justification Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 BL Zone Llil Easting Northing FLiJ LL Lud LilLu Ly LLdLilaLu See assessors map attached. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state NA code county code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title Mary Kate Sampson with Andrew D. Epstein, Swampscott Historical Commission organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date February 1985 street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone (617) 727=8470 Boston city or town state Massachusetts 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national x state x local As the designated State Historic Preservation' Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89- 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. State Historic Preservation Officer signature Valuie A. Jalmage inte executive Divectar, MHC ; shpo date Apri 5,1985 For NPS use only I hereby certity that this property js included in the Nationa .Begister elverByee Hentibriet Megister date 5-16-85- Keeper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date U.S.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPS Form 10-200-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Swampscott Fish House Continuation sheet Swampscott, Mass Item number For NPS use only recelved date entered 8 Page weather. When the railroad from Boston arrived in 1838, summer visitors could make the thirty-mile trip with relative ease. By the early 1880s, it was estimated that there had been as many as 15,000 people, including permanent and transient guests, in Swampscott in a single season. In Waldo Thompson's Sketches of Swampscott (1885), he notes that "the chief features of attraction possessed by this now fashionable watering-place--this Mecca of the North Shore .. .

are its unsurpassed sea view, its invigorating breezes wafted across the sea from every point of the compass except from due north, its bold and rugged front piled up against the ocean, its marble beach, whose surface scarce deigns to receive an impression from the dainty feet which patter over it, and its unequalled facilities for bathing. As Swampscott grew as a summer resort, something of a conflict appears to have developed between the traditional fishing industry and the new economic focus of the town. Blaney, or Fishermen's Beach, on the southern shore of Swampscott, had long been a focus of activity in the local fishing industry. Theshoreline along Humphrey Road was occupied by a number of small fish houses owned by individual local fishermen. The old fish houses were simple, unfinished buildings. On the first floor were bins where loads of fish were emptied after the catch.

Lofts above, used for trawl-baiting and sail-mending, were a common feature. Functional and informal, the fish houses came to be regarded as eyesores in the community. In 1895, a group of Swampscott citizens recommended at the Town Meeting that a portion of Blaney Beach be acquired by the Town, that part of it be used as a fishermen's landing, that all of the old fish houses be removed, and that a suitable new municipal fish house be erected. The 1895 Report of the Park Commissioner states as follows: "The business interests directly connected with the shore are fishing, boating, and bathing. Fishing, which fifty years ago made the town, is now of less importance; but still it is carried on by a highly respected portion of our citizens. In acquiring the beaches, these men should be considered and provided for, first of all.

This not only for their own sakes, but also for the picturesqueness which their calling adds to our shore." The report goes on to make it clear that the boating and bathing interest in the town conflicted with private ownership of the beaches by the fishermen. The proposal to purchase the beaches and erect a new fish house was accepted, and a capital appropriation of $30,000 was made. The plans for the Swampscott Fish House were prepared by Henry W. Rogers of Rogers (1831-1919) was a self-trained architect who had begun his life as a shipwright's apprentice. Most of his known buildings are in Lynn, where he was responsible for much of the rebuilding of the downtown business district after an 1889 fire. Bids for the erection of the building were taken in 1896, and the principal contract was awarded to Peleg Gardner with the requirement that work was to be done by Swampscott people.

The underpinning No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 NPS Form 10-200-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form For NPS use only recelved date entered Swampscott Fish House Continuation sheet Swampscott. Mass Item number Page work was given to Michael McDonough and the plumbing to Philbrick & Pope. The Fish House is extremely interesting architecturally because of its formality and its striking similarity to the many summer houses that were built in Swampscott during the late nineteenth century. By the 1890s, Swampscott was filled with extensive mansions and estates built in the latest styles. Architects as well-known as William Morris Hunt designed summer houses in Swampscott. The Shingle style was extremely popular in the period.

Arthur Little's best-known Shingle style houses--Shingleside (1881: demolished ca. 1960) and Grasshead (1882)--were built in Swampscott. The symmetrical form of the Fish House with its Colonial Revival inspiration, combined with its close-fitting skin of shingles, make it an important expression of contempory styles in a building whose primarily use was functional. The Fish House's substantial design resulted from a conscious attempt to reconcile ongoing commercial interests with the tastes and sensibilities of summer resort people and of local residents. The 1897 Report of the Park Commissioners of the Town of Swampscott states: "In the construction of this edifice, we have aimed at two things: first, a building which shall afford to our fishermen convenient and thoroughly sanitary quarters. Secondly, an architecturally attractive structure becoming a high class pleasure resort.

Thanks to the suggestions of the fishermen themselves and the good taste of Mr. Rogers, we think that we have secured these ends." The Fish House was designed with sixteen individual storage rooms, or lockers, on its first floor. These rooms measured approximately 15x20 feet in area, and were rented to the local fishermen as places to store tackle and other equipment, and as places to store the days' catch temporarily. The second floor held a common storage room for the fishermen, and a meeting room for the Swampscott Yacht Club. On the third floor was a sail loft. Whether the new Fish House actually afforded better quarters to the local fishermen is unclear. Certainly the Fish House was heavily used when it was first built, and has been in continuous use since its construction.

The sixteen lockers are all rented in 1985, nine of them by full-time fishermen and the remainder by men fishing only part-time. The primary catch is now lobster. In 1984, the lobster catch was measured at 300,000 1bs. Swampscott Town Meeting recently appropriated monies for the repair and restoration of the Fish House. Besides upgrading the building's support systems, any damaged historic elements will be repaired, restored or replicated. The Swampscott Fish House will continue to be an important 1andmark for the town of Swampscott. Since the probability of any archaeological remains (either prehistoric or historic) on the Fish House site is extremely low, the archaeological significance of this nomination is correspondingly 1ow. OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp.

10-31-84 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Swampscott Fish House Swampscott, MA Item number 9 OMB No.1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Arrington, Ben jamin, ed. Municipal History of Essex County in Massachusetts. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1922. Mansur, Frank. Swampscott: The Beginning of a Town. Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1972. Thompson, Waldo. Swampscott: Historical Sketches of the Town. Lynn, Massachusetts: Press of Thomas P. Nichols, 1885. Swampscott Town 1896, Reports.

Swampscott, Massachusetts: Town of Swampscott, 1895, 1897, WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Swampscott Fish House Essex County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: J sample request APR 17 1985 Working No.. Fed. Reg. Datecx Date Due: _ 5/16/85 Batered 1I tiae Action: LACCEPT Me.t1onel Megteter -RETURN_ _REJECT _ Federal Agency: Jappeal LNR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer - Discipline. Date 6/1/85 51685 _ see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: _technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes -no 7. Description Condition - excellent good fair deteriorated I ruins - unexposed Check one -unaltered -altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one -original site moved date _ 8. Significancs Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Builder/Architect summary paragraph completeness clarity - applicable criteria justification of areas checked - relating significance to the resource context Lrelationship of integrity to significance -justification of exception J other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature title date 13. Other - -Maps - Photographs -Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - Signed - Date - Phone: _ Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet SWAMPSCOTT FISH HOUSE Humphrey Street Swampscott, Massachusetts 01907 Photographer unknown - C.1900 Photo No. 1 of 2.

View from northwest towards bay Swampscott Fish House Humphrey Street Swampscott, MA Photographer: Andrew Epstein October, 1984 photograph 2 of 2 OAIIZ ISNE ACIDAM LAVE LIAEATATD The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer April 5, 1985 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior 18th and C. Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Swampscott Fish House: Hamphrey Street, Swampscott, Mass Amendments to the Northampton Downtown Historic District: Bridge and Market Streets, Northampton, Mass Al1 have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were a. afforded the opportunity to comment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Also enclosed are three properties in the Taunton MRA, returned to our office on March 3, 1985, for the lack of USGS maps. Since you already have a USGS map on file for the Taunton MRA, I enclose xerox copies of maps with each property clearly marked. These can be easily transferred to a USGS map.

LAlso enclosed is the nomination for Amesbury and Salisbury Mills Village, Amesbury, Mass. This was returned to us for lack of a scale on the sketch map. A scale is now added to the map. Sincerely, duly zimmenan Sally Zimmerman Director, Preservation Planner Massachusetts Historical Commission Enclosure SZ/ 1k 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470 Reed <11/85